L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano A s m a l l c a n d l e that never goes out guides any- o n e w a l k i n g past the church known as the Ecce Homo, n a m e d a f t e r t h e v o t i v e shrine depicting Christ, in the heart of Palermo's Via Roma. The faint light illumi- nating Christ's face in the lit- t l e s h r i n e f e e l s l i k e a reminder of an older city, when Palermo was neither crowded nor brightly lit. It once helped locals and trav- elers find their way, and it continues to do so today as more and more visitors fill the streets of the historic center. At the foot of the steps leading to the Church of San- t'Antonio Abate, the shrine, originally located in the Con- c e r i a d i s t r i c t , w a s m o v e d during the major redevelop- m e n t b e t w e e n 1 9 2 9 a n d 1932, when the entire neigh- borhood was demolished to create the new Via Roma. That is how the Ecce Homo found its place beside the staircase that rises toward Sant'Antonio Abate. The scourged Christ por- trayed in the shrine has long r e c e i v e d t h e p r a y e r s a n d p l e a s f o r f o r g i v e n e s s o f s m a l l - t i m e t r i c k s t e r s , especially fish sellers who, when weighing their goods, tampered with the scales and later felt the need to atone. F r e s h f l o w e r s a n d v o t i v e offerings have never been absent, a sign of enduring devotion and, perhaps, an enduring sense of guilt. The Church of Sant'An- tonio Abate del Senato Palermitano (this is its full n a m e ) s t a n d s n e x t t o t h e staircase that descends to the famous Vucciria mar- ket below. In other words: "the devil and holy water." The expression embodies the stark contrast between the house of God and the mar- ketplace, a place of trade not a l w a y s a b o v e b o a r d a n d nightlife not always quiet. The phrase, familiar across several Italian dialects, can be traced back to the early nineteenth century, when A l e s s a n d r o M a n z o n i h a d Agnese, Lucia's mother, use i t i n T h e B e t r o t h e d i n response to a question from the Nun of Monza. This architectural gem, more than eight centuries old – it was already standing by 1200 – is not fully visible from Via Roma because it s i t s s l i g h t l y a b o v e s t r e e t level; access is through the staircase mentioned above. It stands on the very spot where, during Islamic Sicily, the Porta di Mare (Bab al- Bahr) – also known as the Porta dei Patitelli, named after the clog makers who worked nearby – once rose. T h e s t r u c t u r e r o u g h l y marked the eastern end of the earliest Neapolis, the strip of land between the Papireto River to the north a n d t h e K e m o n i a t o t h e south, an area that today w o u l d c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e modern Cassaro (Via Vitto- rio Emanuele). Between 1302 and 1313, at the request of the family of Manfredi I Chiaramonte, a tower was built here. The tower still houses, though it no longer functions, the Pre- toria bell, once used by the city's Senate to summon the people. In 1536, the church took on its current architec- t u r a l f o r m ; d u r i n g t h e Baroque era, a presbytery was added to accommodate the choir stalls and two seats reserved for the members of the Palermo Senate and for the parish priest, who held t h e t i t l e o f A p o s t o l i c Protonotary. In 1733, it gained further honor when the Ecce Homo was proclaimed the city's ordinary patron. The procla- m a t i o n w a s l i n k e d t o t h e presence of a half-bust on the church's left wall, attrib- uted to F r a t e U m i l e d a Petralia. The attribution is based on the characteristic thorn piercing Christ's left e y e b r o w , a m a r k o f t e n regarded as the artist's sig- nature. The staircase leading u p t o t h e c h u r c h b e c a m e necessary after the cutting of V i a R o m a , w h i c h l e f t t h e entrance raised above the new street level. Following the earthquake of 1823, extensive restora- tion was required, giving the b u i l d i n g i t s p r e s e n t n e o - Gothic appearance under the direction of the architect Nicolò Ranieri. On either side of the entrance portal s t a n d m a r b l e s t a t u e s o f Saints Peter and Paul, while a b o v e t h e c o r n i c e s i t s a small statue of the Immacu- late Conception. Inside, the square layout recalls Byzantine architec- ture through its Greek-cross plan. Four columns support t h e d o m e , w h i c h , t h o u g h rebuilt, retains its original p o i n t e d s h a p e . P a i n t i n g s f r o m 1 7 5 7 a n d a c a n v a s d a t e d 1 6 1 8 , a t t r i b u t e d t o G i u s e p p e S a l e r n o , b e t t e r k n o w n b y h i s n i c k n a m e Zoppo di Gangi, enrich the sanctuary's interior. The tower still bears, on its western façade, the sym- b o l s o f t h e C h i a r a m o n t e family and the eagle of the Palermo Senate; on the east- ern side, the emblems of the kings of Aragon remain visi- ble. In 1595, the tower was lowered because its height alarmed local residents, who feared it might collapse. The spire that once supported t h e e a g l e a n d t h e b r o n z e s p h e r e w a s r e m o v e d ; t h e sphere was later donated to the Monastery of San Marti- no delle Scale in Palermo. This year, on 13 Decem- b e r , t h e p r e s t i g i o u s a n d s y m b o l i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t church will host the celebra- tion marking the eighth cen- tenary of the birth of Saint T h o m a s A q u i n a s . T h e event is organized by the Thule Cultura Founda- tion and ASCU (Accade- m i a S i c i l i a n a C u l t u r a Umanistica), both chaired b y P r o f e s s o r T o m m a s o R o m a n o , a s p a r t o f t h e t w e n t y - n i n t h c o n f e r e n c e titled The Light of Wisdom i n t h e T e a c h i n g o f S a i n t Thomas Aquinas. The saint's birth, between 1224 and 1225 in Roccasec- ca, in the province of Frosi- none, dates almost to the same period as the construc- tion of the church where the conference will take place. T h o m a s A q u i n a s w a s a Dominican friar, theologian and philosopher, recognized a s a c e n t r a l f i g u r e i n t h e intellectual history of the West and in the develop- ment of Catholic thought. K n o w n a s t h e D o c t o r Angelicus for his leading role in medieval Scholasti- cism, he was canonized in 1323 by Pope John XXII and is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. In 1880, he was declared patron saint of uni- versities and Catholic cen- ters of study. H i s b o d y o f t h o u g h t , known as Thomism, marks the meeting point between Christian teaching and clas- sical philosophy, drawing on Socrates, Plato and Aristo- tle. Thomistic ideas, in turn, i n f l u e n c e d c o u n t l e s s thinkers and intellectuals, f r o m D a n t e A l i g h i e r i t o Blaise Pascal and Gottfried Leibniz. The nineteenth and t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r i e s w i t - nessed a renewed apprecia- tion of his work, giving rise to Neo-Thomism. The Church of Sant'Anto- nio Abate del Senato Paler- mitano will thus take centre stage, enjoying a moment of well-deserved visibility after centuries in which its posi- tion, almost hidden from t h o s e p a s s i n g a l o n g V i a Roma, made it easy to over- look. Yet the church has an extraordinary wealth of his- t o r y t o o f f e r , l i k e e v e r y architectural monument and every work of art that pre- serves within it the traces of t i m e : s i l e n t w i t n e s s e s t o l i v e s l i v e d , e x p e r i e n c e s handed down, and memo- ries that, fortunately, are not always erased by the passing of the centuries. TERESA DI FRESCO The church of Sant'Antonio Abate del Senato Palermitano (Photo: UnaPhoto.com/Shutterstock) When the sacred and the secular stand only a step apart ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

• Cover